African Markets – Factors to watch on May 17-Reuters

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Wednesday.

GLOBAL MARKETS
U.S. share futures and the dollar tumbled in Asian trade on Wednesday after reports President Donald Trump asked
then-FBI Director James Comey to end a probe into Trump’s former national security advisor.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South Africa’s rand hit a three-week high against the dollar on Tuesday as the greenback weakened broadly on worries over U.S. President Donald Trump’s disclosure that he had shared information with Russian officials, while stocks were flat.

KENYA MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling edged lower on Tuesday mainly due to demand for dollars by oil importers.

KENYA FOOD
Kenya will offer subsidies to maize importers to help lower
the cost of maize flour which shot up due to a regional
drought, Agriculture Minister Willy Bett said on Tuesday.

NIGERIA INFLATION
Annual inflation in Nigeria eased for the third straight month in April, inching down to 17.24 percent from 17.26
percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report.

NIGERIA CRUDE
Nigerian workers from an oil labour union have extended a strike to oil majors Chevron , Shell and Eni
subsidiary Agip in protest over the sacking of members from Exxon Mobil Corp , the union’s general secretary said on Tuesday.

IVORY COAST TURMOIL
Renegade troops in Ivory Coast accepted a government proposal on bonuses and returned to barracks on Tuesday,
ending a mutiny that had closed businesses, shut major roads and threatened years of economic progress in the world’s top cocoa producer.

CENTRAL AFRICA REPUBLIC VIOLENCE
As many as 100 people were killed last week in militia violence in southern Central African Republic and fighting
fuelled by ethnic and religious rivalries is spreading, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

GHANA COCOA
Ghana’s Cocobod raised $200 million in a bond issued via the central bank to cover its operations for the rest of the
cocoa season after its annual syndicated loan ran out early, the regulator’s chief executive Joseph Aidoo said on
Tuesday.

UGANDA GROWTH
The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for Uganda’s growth for the fiscal year ending next month to
between 3.5 and 4 percent from 5 percent on Tuesday, blaming drought and slow credit growth.